EF1 tornado in Pike County, Mississippi

An EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 90 mph and width of 175 yards rapidly developed along Hwy 570, northwest of McComb, MS on the evening of March 11th. This tornado damage path was distinctly different to the predecessor tornado along Hwy 570 as most of the confluent damage was directed southeast and east as the KHDC velocity signature denoted the strong rotation center of this tornado diving southeastward along the highway. This tornado uprooted several trees, snapped the tops of tree trunks, tossed a golf cart approximately 70 yards, and caused minor roof damage to a couple homes as it tracked along the highway. Additional tree damage was near Delaware Avenue where confluence of damage direction was identified. These damage path characteristics are subject to change.

Environmental conditions favorable for a QLCS (Quasi-Linear Convective System) tornado event developed across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi during the afternoon and evening hours of March 11th. An upper-level storm system moving east from Texas overspread a very moist and increasingly unstable air mass in place across the region. At the same time, intense low-level wind shear and strong atmospheric spin developed as southerly winds strengthened ahead of an approaching line of storms with bowing segments.

The combination of rich Gulf moisture, strong low-level atmospheric spin, and a fast-moving line of thunderstorms created an environment supportive of embedded rotating circulations along the leading edge of the QLCS. As that line moved west to east across the local area, several rapidly developing tornadoes formed within these circulations. A total of 6 tornadoes were confirmed across southwest Mississippi and multiple reports of damaging straight-line winds were also received.